This innovative YA series is a set of high-interest urban fiction novels that's written at a fourth-grade reading level, specifically designed for reluctant and striving readers, including those who read below grade level or are ESL/ELL students. All of the stories feature diverse characters who go to school at Southside High. As in any teen life, getting through the day is no picnic, whether you're the star quarterback or the quiet artist. Surviving Southside books offer an identifiable look at teen struggles and successes.

What's the price of fame? Cassie is the best singer in Southside High's Glee Club and dreams of being famous. She skips school to try out for a national talent competition. But her hopes sink when she...

When Rob and Gabi skip school with two friends, the group makes a terrible mistake. Rob and his friends end up in a deadly accident, and suddenly Rob's world has changed. The girl of his dreams is eve...

Norval and Arnie are two of the stars on the Southside High football team. They're best friends off the field, too, and they're both hoping to play college ball some day. When Coach Green asks Norval ...

Izzy's the newest member of the Southside High dance team. And she may have picked a bad time to join up. The team's captain, Camilla, is determined to win regionals by any means necessary. When the d...

"Reluctant readers of this timely and realistic novel, told in alternating chapters, will cheer on Scott and Carmen and may even be inspired to take action at their own schools to form a GSA." —School Library Journal

"After Jamie Ballard commits suicide, senior Scott King decides to try starting a Gay-Straight Alliance at his high school, in memory of his friend. Unfortunately, his past reputation as a bully catches up with him, and his former victims, as well as his homophobic football teammates, make it difficult for him to get the requisite petition signed by the student body. Meanwhile, Carmen Mendoza, who is out and proud, starts to receive threatening notes in her locker and on social media. Although she is the daughter of two supportive lawyers, she has a reputation as a troublemaker because of how she dresses and behaves in school. When she wants to form an alliance, she is rejected by administrators, who say that she cannot handle the additional responsibility. With the nudge of a caring teacher, Scott and Carmen reluctantly team up to start a GSA and confront the bully who was going after Carmen. As seen too often in real-life situations, conservative parents get to the school board, and the project is put on hold. Reluctant readers of this timely and realistic novel, told in alternating chapters, will cheer on Scott and Carmen and may even be inspired to take action at their own schools to form a GSA." —School Library Journal

"A smoothly written, accessible story of two brave and sympathetic teens who struggle to overcome odds. This volume in the Surviving Southside series is an excellent title for reluctant readers and is sure to spark discussion in GSA groups and in the classroom." —Booklist Online

"When Scott's gay best friend commits suicide, Scott, who knows the boy was bullied to death, decides to form a gay-straight alliance 'to make sure this didn't happen to anybody else at school.' In the meantime, Carmen, who is an out and proud lesbian, receives a death threat and decides, in turn, that she will start a GSA. In short order, the two form an alliance working together toward their goal. But it won't be easy. Carmen continues to receive threats, and Scott, who is straight, finds his reputation on the line. Worst of all, theirs is a conservative school and community. Will the two be able to overcome bigotry? Told from their first-person, alternating points of view, The Alliance is a smoothly written, accessible story of two brave and sympathetic teens who struggle to overcome odds. This volume in the Surviving Southside series is an excellent title for reluctant readers and is sure to spark discussion in GSA groups and in the classroom." —Booklist Online

"The perils of irresponsible Internet sharing and controlling boyfriends are some of the challenges that surface in this addition to the Surviving Southside series, written at a fourth-grade reading level...Readers looking for a brisk read about teens with real-life problems should be hooked by the crisp writing and high stakes." —Publishers Weekly

"High school junior Daisy Garcia has heard of other students getting in trouble for sexting, but she never imagines anything could go wrong when her boyfriend, Simon, asks her to send him a provocative pic. The perils of irresponsible Internet sharing and controlling boyfriends are some of the challenges that surface in this addition to the Surviving Southside series, written at a fourth-grade reading level. A subplot about a school talent show rounds out the story. Readers looking for a brisk read about teens with real-life problems should be hooked by the crisp writing and high stakes." —Publishers Weekly

"Teens at Texas' ethnically diverse Southside High fight an anti-gay school policy after incidents of homophobic bullying.

When her teacher witnesses an act of anti-gay violence in the school hallway and refuses to intervene, Bella—short for Isabel—is horrified. Even though Dominic, the student being bullied, downplays the incident when Bella asks him about it, Bella feels called to action. When she decides to join the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, however, she discovers the club only exists unofficially. Zoe, one of the students involved, explains, 'There's something going on....The teachers are totally freaked out about anything having to do with gay people.' Readers who remember The Alliance (2013), set at Southside a year earlier, will recognize the district's 'neutrality policy' as the reason teachers refuse to intervene in homophobic bullying or even teach works by queer creators such as Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay or Aaron Copland. Here, Bella and Zoe uncover the policy and launch a community-wide battle against it. Although the story is bare-bones short, the characters are well-drawn, and there is room for nuance. Bella is interested in a female classmate, June, but what that means about her sexuality is left refreshingly ambiguous.

"After the suicide of Jamie Ballard, a gay teen who was being bullied, two very different students at Southside High try to start a Gay-Straight Alliance.

Like other installments in the Surviving Southside series, this one delivers a short, focused plot without sacrificing characterization. Two different characters narrate alternating segments: golden-boy football player Scott King, who was Jamie's best friend, and opinionated, out lesbian Carmen Mendoza. As Carmen and Scott try to collect the required number of petition signatures to create the club, each runs into obstacles. Scott's football friends refuse to express interest in 'that fag group,' and other students remember Scott's own acts of bullying too keenly to trust him. Carmen, well-liked among a variety of social groups, encounters resistance among teachers, including a sinister assistant principal who subtly insults her in an effort to discourage her from starting the GSA. When the two finally unite, the club seems poised to get off the ground. A parent group's last-minute intervention, however, puts the club on hold, a believable turn of events that nevertheless makes the story feel unresolved, particularly given that there is no indication that the new 'neutrality policy' will be addressed in The Fight (2013), another Surviving Southside volume.

A brief, believable and sobering look into bullying and school bureaucracies."—Kirkus Reviews

Series Review: While fairly short and to the point, this series of low-reading-level, high-interest fiction titles are interesting to read and worth having in any teen collection. The topics covered are hard hitting, controversial, and may fill a need in most teen collections. Each title can be read alone but also manages to connect with the other titles in one way or another. In The Alliance, lesbian Carmen Mendoza is being threatened, probably by the same person who bullied football player Scott King’s best friend into suicide (before the book starts) over being gay. Both try to start a Gay-Straight Alliance separately, then are teamed up and almost succeed before school board politics interfere. The GSA story appears again, in a different way, in The Fight; which features Bella trying to take a stand against a school board policy that may have contributed to a friend killing himself partway through the story. In Overexposed, Daisy sends some explicit phone pics to her boyfriend right before they fight. Naturally, they end up all over school, her older brother tries to defend her, and the school administration steps in with their sexting policies. Finally, Full Impact demonstrates to readers the dangers of football, focusing on concussions. Arnie begins to act a bit weird, but his best friend Norval tries to blow it off. Norval does not want to ruin their friendship or Arnie’s chances at a college scholarship—until it is too late. Arnie is in the hospital, and his football and high school careers are over. Each book has strongly believable plots, well-developed characters, and relevant topics for today’s youth. While this reviewer only read four of the twelve titles in the SurvivingSouthside series, all would be worth adding in the less expensive paperback format to any teen collection.

Series Review: While fairly short and to the point, this series of low-reading-level, high-interest fiction titles are interesting to read and worth having in any teen collection. The topics covered are hard hitting, controversial, and may fill a need in most teen collections. Each title can be read alone but also manages to connect with the other titles in one way or another. In The Alliance, lesbian Carmen Mendoza is being threatened, probably by the same person who bullied football player Scott King’s best friend into suicide (before the book starts) over being gay. Both try to start a Gay-Straight Alliance separately, then are teamed up and almost succeed before school board politics interfere. The GSA story appears again, in a different way, in The Fight; which features Bella trying to take a stand against a school board policy that may have contributed to a friend killing himself partway through the story. In Overexposed, Daisy sends some explicit phone pics to her boyfriend right before they fight. Naturally, they end up all over school, her older brother tries to defend her, and the school administration steps in with their sexting policies. Finally, Full Impact demonstrates to readers the dangers of football, focusing on concussions. Arnie begins to act a bit weird, but his best friend Norval tries to blow it off. Norval does not want to ruin their friendship or Arnie’s chances at a college scholarship—until it is too late. Arnie is in the hospital, and his football and high school careers are over. Each book has strongly believable plots, well-developed characters, and relevant topics for today’s youth. While this reviewer only read four of the twelve titles in the SurvivingSouthside series, all would be worth adding in the less expensive paperback format to any teen collection.

Series Review: While fairly short and to the point, this series of low-reading-level, high-interest fiction titles are interesting to read and worth having in any teen collection. The topics covered are hard hitting, controversial, and may fill a need in most teen collections. Each title can be read alone but also manages to connect with the other titles in one way or another. In The Alliance, lesbian Carmen Mendoza is being threatened, probably by the same person who bullied football player Scott King’s best friend into suicide (before the book starts) over being gay. Both try to start a Gay-Straight Alliance separately, then are teamed up and almost succeed before school board politics interfere. The GSA story appears again, in a different way, in The Fight; which features Bella trying to take a stand against a school board policy that may have contributed to a friend killing himself partway through the story. In Overexposed, Daisy sends some explicit phone pics to her boyfriend right before they fight. Naturally, they end up all over school, her older brother tries to defend her, and the school administration steps in with their sexting policies. Finally, Full Impact demonstrates to readers the dangers of football, focusing on concussions. Arnie begins to act a bit weird, but his best friend Norval tries to blow it off. Norval does not want to ruin their friendship or Arnie’s chances at a college scholarship—until it is too late. Arnie is in the hospital, and his football and high school careers are over. Each book has strongly believable plots, well-developed characters, and relevant topics for today’s youth. While this reviewer only read four of the twelve titles in the SurvivingSouthside series, all would be worth adding in the less expensive paperback format to any teen collection.

Series Review: While fairly short and to the point, this series of low-reading-level, high-interest fiction titles are interesting to read and worth having in any teen collection. The topics covered are hard hitting, controversial, and may fill a need in most teen collections. Each title can be read alone but also manages to connect with the other titles in one way or another. In The Alliance, lesbian Carmen Mendoza is being threatened, probably by the same person who bullied football player Scott King’s best friend into suicide (before the book starts) over being gay. Both try to start a Gay-Straight Alliance separately, then are teamed up and almost succeed before school board politics interfere. The GSA story appears again, in a different way, in The Fight; which features Bella trying to take a stand against a school board policy that may have contributed to a friend killing himself partway through the story. In Overexposed, Daisy sends some explicit phone pics to her boyfriend right before they fight. Naturally, they end up all over school, her older brother tries to defend her, and the school administration steps in with their sexting policies. Finally, Full Impact demonstrates to readers the dangers of football, focusing on concussions. Arnie begins to act a bit weird, but his best friend Norval tries to blow it off. Norval does not want to ruin their friendship or Arnie’s chances at a college scholarship—until it is too late. Arnie is in the hospital, and his football and high school careers are over. Each book has strongly believable plots, well-developed characters, and relevant topics for today’s youth. While this reviewer only read four of the twelve titles in the SurvivingSouthside series, all would be worth adding in the less expensive paperback format to any teen collection.

"The topics are interesting and relevant, and present characters readers can empathize with. With each novel being around 100 pages, students who struggle with reading or finding interesting material to read should pick one up. Recommended." --Library Media Connection

"Students at Southside High are dealing with real-life dilemmas, such as pregnancy, military deployment, and football recruitment. Readers are given examples showing that each choice has consequences. This series highlights middle class high school students dealing with issues that hit home today. Different authors tackle different issues, but each novel is similar in style. A likable character is introduced who seems to live an ordinary life. The character then struggles with options. Finally they make the right decisions and leave the reader thinking about each situation. The series is written at a lower level for older students. The topics are interesting and relevant, and present characters readers can empathize with. With each novel being around 100 pages, students who struggle with reading or finding interesting material to read should pick one up. Recommended." --Library Media Connection